Gotland: Pearl of the Baltic Sea
We spotted the towers of Visby’s medieval cathedral as we approached Sweden’s island of Gotland. We were there to see the Old Town, a medieval Viking and Hanseatic trading post with a ring wall, towers, and moat. It is so well preserved that it seems to have come to life from a fairy tale. Today, Visby is a modern municipality and cultural center, a fusion of the best of the old and new. You can shop for innovative local goods and modern Scandinavian designs in historic buildings along winding 13th century cobbled lanes.
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Revenge of the Ravens: The Story of Einsiedeln, Switzerland
When we were in the Lake Zurich region of Switzerland we used our Swiss Pass to take the train to Einsiedeln, in the Swiss canton of Schwyz. The Benedictine Monastery Einsiedeln is the largest abbey and oldest pilgrimage site in Switzerland. It is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for the Virgin Mary in Europe.
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Scuol, Switzerland
Scuol, between the the Silvretta range and the Swiss Dolomites, is a place where mineral waters flow from community fountains. Cobblestone squares are surrounded by historic houses decorated with sgraffito, a technique of scratching a design through the surface layer.
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Barging in Alsace Lorraine aboard European Waterways’ Le Panache
We booked a barge trip that began and ended in Strasbourg, capital of the Alsace region of eastern France. This beautiful area between the Vosges Mountains and the Black Forest bears a strong German influence because its nationality and language switched back and forth depending on the outcome of a variety of wars.
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Ultimate farm to fork in the Great Outdoors: Outaouais in Québec, Canada
The Outaouais region is about a two hour drive from Montréal. This agricultural area in the southwestern part of the province is bordered by the Laurentian Mountains and Canada’s capital city, Ottawa.
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